The Japanese Are Still Unloading U.S. Real Estate

Economic Trends

THE JAPANESE ARE STILL UNLOADING U.S. REAL ESTATE

America's commercial real estate market is finally showing signs of strength. But Japanese investors, who anted up $75 billion for U.S. commercial real estate in the late 1980s, are in a selling mood. In a recent poll of big Japanese investors by accounting firm Kenneth Leventhal & Co., about two-thirds of respondents said they intended to sell some of their U.S. property this year. The firm expects to see $3 billion to $5 billion in Japanese sales this year, up from $2.6 billion in 1993, with office buildings and hotels first on the block.GENE KORETZ